As a photographer, one of your goals should be to capture your subject matter in the best moment possible.  This, just like writing your hub, requires some effort.  Research, preparation, and sometimes lengthy photo sessions will usually pay off in the end.  

Usually is the operative word.  There are many times when the eye just doesn’t see.   Rather than force yourself to capture something that might not be there, sometimes you just chalk it up to experience, knowing there will be other moments.  Many times, for many hours, on many days, the waiting game has played itself out.  Good photographers will position themselves early in an effort to be in the game when the sweet light occurs. 

Sweet light is a term many photographers use to describe a certain quality of light.  It can occur early in the morning around sunrise as well as late in the day around sunset.  The sun’s angle is such that the rays travel through a higher concentration of atmospheric particles, adding either the soft pastel look or the glowing quality seen in many photographic images.  These two times of day are key for taking your photographic skills to the next level.

Understanding light quality will help in your attempts at successful image making.  The human eye sees a greater range of tones than the camera does.  Details that we see in highlight and shadow areas are likely to show up at edit time as blown out whites and dark blacks.  With practice your eye begins to see what the camera sees;  visualization and perception exercises along with a bit of intuition will help further your visual skills. 

Having a basic grasp of your camera’s limitations is critical in image capture.  Today’s digital slr cameras are a modern marvel.  The tools they possess are mind-boggling and these creatures can also be a bit intimidating.  Having your owners manual close at hand while you’re in the learning curve will keep frustration at bay.  

If you’re still shooting film, then you have the added responsibility of understanding its limitations.  Since technology is changing at a speed-of-light pace, and since the film market is slowly dwindling, a change over to the digital world will make your photographic life much simpler in the long run.  It seems as if the days of working with a large format camera’s slow and methodical pace have been over run with the newest already outdated technological wonder.  

There are pros and cons to each school.  With digital, the expense of film and processing has been abolished.  Disappearing is the anticipation of doing the film run, laying the images out on the light table, placing the loupe on the image, studying the light, the sharpness, even the grain of the film; all of this has now been replaced with instant gratification.  Today the client is conditioned to receive, thanks to digital photography, electronically stored images, minutes after the photo shoot.  Disappearing too in images capture is the benefit of the slower pace afforded by shooting with large format film:  the eye is caught in the moment.   The eye sees differently at a slower pace than the current half-crazed pace one sees with the newest generation of image makers.  Work slow and you will see more.  

Field notes are essential in nature photography.  They are a vital reference tool when you get to the point of editing.  A year or even three years later, your recorded notes can provide you with valuable information.  The time of year, the angle of the sun, the road or trail location, the prevailing weather patterns, visual landmarks, migratory routes and so much more are all important in maintaining an effective journal.   

Because your schedule is connected to the sun’s, plan on long days.  Depending on the time of sunrise and sunset, the shooting location, and preparation, you may find yourself in the enviable position of waking up at 4 a.m. and finally calling it a day close to midnight.  Keep telling yourself it’s a glamorous profession.